Novum Amicus
by Mighty ANT
Summary: Michelangelo takes April to meet his "new friend". Oneshot


_**Novum Amicus **_

_**A/N: **It's been a while since I wrote a TMNT fanfiction, and I hope I haven't gotten too rusty. This is set in the 2012 universe, after "It Came from the Depths". Just a bit of post-ep. speculation about where Leatherhead would be living from now on. Oh, and the title is Latin for "new friend". Not terribly original, I know. _

_I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!  
_

_The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are not, nor will they ever be, my property. They belong to Mirage, Nickelodeon, or whoever owns them now. _

* * *

April hefted the strap of her backpack onto one shoulder, slamming her locker door with the other. Lost in the sea of her fellow students, she allowed herself to be propelled toward the school entrance, beyond which her classmates scattered, freed from the thrall of high school for the weekend. April shared their sentiments, having found that burying herself in schoolwork and studies was not as helpful a solace as it used to be. Her former friends drifted away after the abduction of her father as did a majority of her peers, most not quite sure how to say 'I'm sorry your dad was kidnapped, do you want to grab a bite to eat?'

All in all, as April finally stepped out of the crowded hallways and into the distinctly fresher air outside, freed of the piteous and overall odd looks she received on a daily basis, she could not be happier. Besides, it was impossible to find friends like hers at any ordinary high school.

Just then, amid the natural sounds of New York, April heard the catchy tune of her new T-Phone. _Speak of the devil… _April thought wryly, tugging her phone loose from the front pocket of her backpack. She had received a text message from 'Mikey the Awesomest', and opened it with a smirk.

_**Heyyy, who's the coolest girl in the world?**_

Making sure she would not run into anyone, April quickly responded with a quirked eyebrow. She knew that Michelangelo was not the kind of guy, turtle or otherwise, to message her with praise for no reason.

_**What do you want, Mikey?**_

She received a reply within seconds, and was forced to stifle snorted laughter by biting on her fist.

_**How come you always think I WANT something? Maybe I just felt like complimenting you today. **_

_**All right, I'm sorry, **_April amended, resuming her walk. _**But DO you want something?**_

_**Well sort of. **_

Suddenly filled with a reasonable amount of trepidation, April answered as she paused at a crosswalk.

_**If you want my help to prank the guys again, you're on your own. **_

_**No it's not that. **_

April's brow furrowed when Mikey did not provide more information, even if it was only a text. He was the most talkative of his brothers, with or without technology, with the exception of perhaps Donatello when he found something interesting and a willing ear to let to him natter on about it.

_**What is it then? **_

There was a long moment in which Michelangelo did not respond and April was beginning to feel a little more than worried, when the familiar chime reached her ear two blocks from her aunt's building.

_**I made a new friend, and I wanted you to come meet him. **_

April's heart softened as she read the message. She could only imagine that Mikey's brothers would be uninterested by whatever pet he had brought into the Lair this time, and sympathized with the youngest turtle. Besides, it was a Friday. What else could she do but visit?

_**I'd love to meet him Mikey. I'll be down there in half an hour.**_

* * *

April had not even set foot in the Liar before Mikey appeared out of nowhere and trapped her in a crushing bear hug.

"You came!" he crowed happily, spinning her around.

"Yeah," April agreed dazedly as Mikey set her back down on her feet. "Yeah, I came." She blinked in Mikey's grinning face. "Aren't we going inside?" she asked, once she realized that Michelangelo was not going to move.

Mikey shook his head. "Nah, my buddy isn't here. We gotta go to _him_." He began walking down a tunnel leading away from the Lair, and in the opposite way April had come. She debated going after him for only an instant, and turning away from the comforting light of the Lair, jogged to catch up with Michelangelo.

"So," April began, walking a step behind the small turtle and allowing him to lead the way, "Where did you find this friend of yours? Not another social website, I hope?"

Mikey's shoulders hunched, his expression clouding for only a second before he was back to his chipper mood. "_No, _thanks to Rad Brad I don't trust the internet anymore. And besides, Leatherhead kinda found _us_."

"'Leatherhead'?" April repeated, beginning to find it harder to see Michelangelo in the dimming light of the tunnel. His outline nodded.

"Yeah, I named him that," Mikey told her proudly. April smirked, only able to imagine what kind of pet would merit a title such as 'Leatherhead'.

"Do the _guys _know about Leatherhead?" she queried. Mikey must have heard her wry inflection because he gasped.

"_April_! Do you really think I would ever do _anything_ without telling my bros? I mean, what kind of turtle do you think I am?" Mikey demanded, aghast, and he sounded as if she had physically wounded him. It took a second before the pair burst out laughing.

By this time, however, April had lost all sight of Michelangelo in the pitch black of the tunnel and, still laughing, held back, reaching for the mercifully dry wall to guide her forward. She took the time to realize that they had not strayed from the subway tunnels, which she was grateful for. Mikey noticed her lagging behind and called to her from a little ways away, worry banishing any leftover mirth.

"April? You okay?"

She sighed, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. "I'm fine, Mikey. I just can't see in here."

"Oh."

The tunnel was silent, and for one horrifyingly irrational moment April thought Michelangelo had gone on without her. Quelling this stemming fear instantaneously was the sensation of a familiar, scaled hand encompassing her own with utmost care, gently tugging her forward. April smiled against the dark.

"Thanks, Mikey."

She could not see him, but April had the feeling that Michelangelo shrugged. "No biggie, sis." Before April could speak around her surprise, Mikey's voice resurfaced from her left, practically bursting with excitement. "Hey, we're almost there!"

Dragging her forward, April could not keep a grin from forming. _Sis_. She kind of liked that.

"We're here!" Mikey announced, and to April's relief there was a light source up ahead. Turning around a final bend, they found themselves before the entrance of a ghost station similar to the one the turtles and Splinter lived in, though this one appeared to have been abandoned in the course of its construction. The few turnstiles erected had been shoved to one side, and there were candles illuminating every corner.

Mikey released April's hand to dash inside, calling for Leatherhead as he poked his head into every nook and cranny. April followed behind the exuberant turtle, observing every little detail the initial construction team had managed to make before the station's abandonment. Most of the original architecture had been defaced or deteriorated, and the ceiling must have been inlaid with shining tile before taken apart by vandals, thrill-seekers, and the like.

April returned her attention to Mikey's cries when he shrieked, distraught, "He's not here!"

Setting down the toy she had been examining, a small metal crocodile, April gently laid a hand on Mikey's shoulder. "Hey, I'm sure he'll turn up," she reassured him, smiling sincerely. April did not particularly fancy tromping through the sewers for Mikey's pet, but she would be nothing if not supportive. "I'm sure he just…wandered off," April continued, keeping her tone hopeful. Michelangelo did not seem to hear her, and anxiously bit his nails as he glanced around the station. In the ensuing silence, April was able to make out faint music.

"Hey—hey, Mikey," April said softly, jostling the distressed turtle's shoulder. "Do you hear that…?"

It took Michelangelo a moment to absorb what April had said but he had perked up in the next instant. "It's swing music!" he told her excitedly, bounding over to an entrance concealed by curtains that April had not noticed before. "Leatherhead loves listening to the big bands!" Mikey went on, parting the curtains. April followed, watching sympathetically as his shoulders drooped again.

She entered the empty room after Michelangelo and her mouth fell open as she looked around. Here, the ceiling was domed and patterned with only slightly tarnished white, green, and brown tiles, meeting in the center around a diamond-shaped mosaic made of clear blue stained glass. Lit candle sticks brightened the entire room, and a battered record player carried on with its jazz melody.

Alongside April, Mikey still wilted.

"He's not here either," Michelangelo pouted, stepping over to the record player as it began to skip. April shrugged, folding her arms over her chest, and tried to ignore how the candles and calming music reminded her vaguely of the turtles' dojo.

"I'm sure he'll come back soon, Mikey," April comforted him again, as Mikey flipped over the record and replayed it. Swing music filled the air again.

Michelangelo looked back to respond, when something past her caught his attention instead. April's brow furrowed at the distant look in his eyes.

"Mikey? Everything OK—?"

A voice garbled like gravel came through the curtain behind April. "Michelangelo? Is that you?"

Before April could speak, much less comprehend what was happening, Mikey was beaming and summoning the voice forward.

"Leatherhead! I'm over here—and I brought a friend!"

April heard the rustle of the curtains opening, and then felt something cold, rough, and _huge_ against her back. In contradiction of her better judgment, April craned her head back, finding a massive scaled snout, dozens of sharp teeth, and reptilian eyes looking back at her, all of this upside down. April blinked. The beast blinked. He exhaled, ruffling her bangs. Then April screamed.

April rushed forward, toward a startled Mikey and away from the monster. Amid her panic, April distantly realized that the reptilian creature had backed away from her.

"Whoa, whoa, _April_!" Mikey gripped her by the shoulders, her back to him, and as always his hold was gentle, but firm enough to keep her in place. "What's wrong?"

It was the utter confusion in Michelangelo's voice that led to April ceasing her struggling. She inhaled deeply, quelling her nerves, and looked behind her to meet Mikey's concerned blue eyes.

"What _is_ that?" she asked shakily, raising a hand to point toward the beast, who had his head lowered and immense shoulders hunched in the shadow of the doorway. Mikey looked appalled.

"That's Leatherhead!"

April felt her stomach drop. "Y-you mean your _friend_?" she hissed, twisting her body to face Michelangelo, and he released her accordingly. "You didn't tell me he was a humongous crocodile!"

"He's an alligator!" Mikey corrected with more vehemence than she was accustomed to hearing from him. "And why does it matter?"

April could tell that this argument would get her nowhere, not when Michelangelo was so dead set on defending the monster. She exhaled heavily. "It doesn't. Not really. But it would have been nice to know that the friend you were taking me to meet was_, you know_—"she paused to flap a hand in the alligator's direction. "The whole time I thought you were talking about a pet!"

Once again, Mikey was horrified. "_April_! Leatherhead's my best friend!"

Before April could even open her mouth to begin explaining that, no, she had _not_ known that Leatherhead was his best friend; she hadn't even known he was clearly a _mutant alligator_, the same gravelly tenor interrupted.

"You have my most sincere apologies. I did not mean to frighten you, Miss O'Neil."

April, in the midst of wondering if she could move quick enough to grab Mikey's nunchucks and bop him over the head with them, glanced toward the hulking beast in the doorway doing his very best to look as small as possible. She swallowed, saying the first thing that came to mind.

"How-how do you know my name?"

Leatherhead shuffled his huge feet, somehow managing to look embarrassed. "Michelangelo and his brothers speak often of their only human ally."

"Leatherhead here hasn't seen a human for, like, a billion years, and I thought it would be nice if you met him," Mikey said, quieter than April had ever heard him. Leatherhead ducked his head, avoiding April's probing gaze.

"It has been…a while. The Kraang were a poor replacement for human affection." Misinterpreting April's shock for fear, he drew himself up. April did not flinch this time as he stood at his eight foot tall glory, though he went on firmly nonetheless. "I understand if you wish to go, Miss O'Neil. My form is intimidating to most everyone I meet, and you would not hurt my feelings by leaving."

April blinked again. She felt like an utter heel, and had judged yet _another_ kind soul by their outward appearance. Now Mikey's lower lip was trembling, Leatherhead looked terribly pained despite his strong words, and she was accountable for it all. April knew how to set it right, however.

Stepping forward, April carefully wrapped her arms around Leatherhead's wrist guards, and this time he was the one who flinched. She flashed him her most sincere smile, and beckoned Mikey closer.

"Well, Leatherhead, as tempting as the offer is, I think I'll stay. You have one heck of a story to tell."


End file.
